WILMINGTON — For the first time since he departed the line-up with a broke foot suffered Nov. 13 against Montreal, Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference went through a full practice with the club today at Ristuccia Arena.

“I did stuff in the zone and defensive stuff,” Ference said, “now it’s just getting my timing and speed up and getting my hands to respond quicker.”

Ference said he’ll continue to practice hard through the weekend, go through a “tough day” at the Wives Carnival Sunday (obviously tongue in cheek) and then see where he stands. While there’s no specific date set for his return, he said it’s just a matter of finding the game that’s right for him and the team, which is playing so well and winner of 10 straight.

•Out of the line-up for the last nine games with an upper-body injury but not forgotten is forward Petteri Nokelainen, who also went through the full practice and took some contact during the 1-on-1 and 3-on-3 drills.

“A couple times,” Nokelainen said about the hits. “And it feels good. No setbacks.”

Head coach Claude Julien called both Ference and Nokelainen “doubtful” for tomorrow’s match-up with Buffalo but he wouldn’t rule out either one.